The Murder of Madison Garcia

When Madison Garcia is found stabbed to death in a loaner car on an isolated beach, first assumptions are that it had been a robbery gone awry, but those assumptions would be wrong. Detective Susan Ford teams up with her father, Will, a retired detective, in McCreary’s second installment in the “Ford Family Mystery” series, a quirky and entertaining sequel to The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon. As the pair wade through family secrets, financial shenanigans, and gangster threats, they learn that Madison had a deeply hidden secret she was planning to confess. Did someone kill her to stop her from spilling the beans? McCreary expertly mixes cozy hometown homicide with a gritty police procedural. Red herrings and peculiar characters abound among family feuds and an extremely relatable lead detective. McCreary’s descriptions of the cities and local history of the East Coast, particularly the Catskills, almost make the setting a character in and of itself. Narrator Rachel Fulginiti creates engaging characterizations and captures the interplay between the characters while also conveying the growing tension.